Name: Pear, honey and ginger pudding
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 - 8
Ingredients: 90 gm honey; 30 gm butter, diced; 4 William pears, peeled, cored and cut into rough 2cm pieces; Icing sugar, for dusting; Vanilla bean ice-cream, to serve; Ginger sponge topping; 150 gm plain flour (1 cup); 1¾ tsp baking powder; 150 gm softened unsalted butter; 130 gm raw caster sugar; 3 eggs; ½ tsp ground ginger, or to taste (see note)

Pear, honey and ginger pudding

Big-time comfort, one spoonful at a time.

Serves 6 - 8

Prep

25M

Cook

35M

Total

This dessert is pure autumn comfort. Try it with the more fragrant wild ginger if you can get your hands on some, or finely grate fresh ginger into the batter for a fresh lift.

Ingredients

90 gm honey

30 gm butter, diced

4 William pears, peeled, cored and cut into rough 2cm pieces

Icing sugar, for dusting

Vanilla bean ice-cream, to serve

Ginger sponge topping

150 gm plain flour (1 cup)

1¾ tsp baking powder

150 gm softened unsalted butter

130 gm raw caster sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp ground ginger, or to taste (see note)

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 170C. Bring honey and butter to the boil in a saucepan, add pears, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pears are just tender (5-7 minutes). Spoon into a 1.5-litre baking dish.

2.For ginger sponge topping, sieve flour and baking powder into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions, then beat in ginger, stir in flour mixture, then spoon batter evenly over pear. Bake until top is risen and golden brown (30-35 minutes). Dust with icing sugar and serve with ice-cream.

Wild ginger is available online from herbies.com.au. Alternatively, you can finely grate fresh ginger into the batter rather than using the powdered stuff.
Drink Suggestion: Late-harvest pinot gris Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes